Weaning - how to get started
You’ve made it through the newborn stage and settled into your new family life
and now its time to start weaning! What is that you may ask ? Here’s a guide to
help get you started.
What is weaning?
Weaning is the process of slowly replacing a baby’s milk and the nutrients it gives with solid food. This helps them to continue to grow and develop and starts to establish a relationship with food and mealtimes.
When should I start my baby weaning?
The current guidelines from the NHS is to start weaning your baby around 6 months old. Signs that show they are ready to start are;
Staying in a sitting position and holding their head up
Attempting to put things in their mouths
Chewing on fingers or fists
They’re swallowing as opposed to spitting things out
Getting started
Here at Tinies & Co we found it useful to think of weaning as in three stages which breaks down how to introduce solids and their variety of tastes and textures gradually.
Stage 1 ( around 6 months) – First tastes – the introduction of solid foods
Stage 2 ( 6-9 months) – Exploring different textures and tastes
Stage 3 (10 to 12 months) – Wider variety and eating family food
As always, each child and their progress is different so don’t get hung up on exact timings, it is important to follow your child’s lead.
Stage 1 – First tastes
At the beginning, its all about getting them to try different tastes and gettingthem used to moving food around in their mouths. They only need a few spoonfuls once a day at this stage and should continue having the same amount of milk as usual. When starting to wean, it’s a good idea to leave it an hour after a normal milk feed so that they arent irritable with hunger but not too full. For the first tastes, its fine to give them in their bouncy chair or a small chair like the Bumbo seat which may be less intimidating for you both than a highchair. It can be messy so make sure you have a bib, get the dustpan and brush to hand and perhaps a splash mat.
Ideal first foods
Many people find puree or soft cooked vegetables if you have chosen to follow a baby led weaning approach. Some of the most popular first foods are:
Carrot
Potato
Butternut squash
Broccoli
Pureed peas
Sweet potato
Banana
Apple
Berries
Stage 2 – Exploring different tastes and textures
After your baby has gotten used to the some of the early solid foods such as vegetables and fruit, you can progress onto combining flavours such as potato and broccoli and also introduce more interesting tastes and textures such as cereals, grains, eggs, chicken, fish. Milk will still be their main source of nutrients ( although you can slowly start to reduce the amount) but you can start to introduce food at three times a day at this stage to help them get used to a variety of foods.
Recommended foods:
Cereals and grains
Soft cooked chicken or fish
Finger foods such as cucumber, steamed vegetables
Cooked pasta pieces
Yoghurts
Pasteurised soft cheeses
Stage 3 – Wider variety and eating family
As your baby approaches one they start to shift their milk dependency toward solid food which will then become their main source of nutrients. At around 10 months you can reduce milk feeds and it is a good idea to introduce them to small family meals, they have more teeth now and can handle crunchier chewier foods.
Recommended equipment to help your weaning journey
A little preparation ahead will help you on this next stage, you may already have some or most of these items but here are a few essentials we recommend:
A blender or food processor
A steamer
A masher ( potato masher or potato ricer)
A tray or small pots to freeze small portions in
A flask for transporting food around
A bib
High chair
Feeding spoons
Small bowl
Sippy cup
For more suggestions see our Mealtimes edit